Among Indonesia’s countless natural and man-made wonders, the Komodo dragon occupies a prominent place. In order to see this ancient and large lizard, we spent two wonderful days on a boat, cruising from one island to another.

Day 53, Monday, October 28: Sanur – Labuan Bajo – Rinca

We started the day very early getting up at 5:15 am. It was before breakfast time, so we got a breakfast box delivered full of goodies, delivered to our room. Unfortunately, none of us had an appetite to eat anything besides a small croissant and a quick tea.

Our guide and driver took us to the Denpasar airport, and we took off on Batik air. For this regional flight, our suitcases had to be checked in (again).

We landed in Labuan Bajo, on Flores Island. Met our local guide Paul, who was going to be with us on the boat – named Singkolo – for two days. To our great surprise, Steve and I were the only passengers on the boat, plus a crew of nine and our guide!

From Labuan Bajo, we begin cruising toward Rinca Island just after 10.

Rinca is one of the three largest islands of Komodo National Park, along with Padar and Komodo. The park was founded in 1980 to protect the Komodo dragons (Avaranus komodoensis) and in 1991 became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Komodo dragon is a very dangerous predator, can even be 3 meters long and about 150 kilograms. Their total number is estimated at 3,500-5,000 in the park.

On our way to Rinca, we were overwhelmed by the delicious traditional Indonesian lunch that was served.

We arrived at Rinca at 1:30 and were very excited to see the dragons even though it was already the hotter part of the day when they would seek the shady part of the grass-woodland and therefore would be harder to find. But we were lucky because the park naturalist knew where to look.

We saw our first dragon from a distance as it was running into the trees. Then, we found 3 near and in an artificial pond. One of them was over 2 meters. Of course, we posed for our picture with it.

In the hot sun, we hiked to a lookout for a lovely view, then on the way back to the visitor center, we saw another dragon.

It wasn’t over yet, even though we were already happy, because by the visitor center, while admiring some buffalo, we noticed a big dragon nearby.

Back on the boat just after 3:30, where we were welcomed with a refreshing dragon fruit smoothie.

By 6 o’clock, we were anchored by an island where we witnessed the sunset and the nightly flight of thousands of fruit bats as they left the island for their evening feed. The spectacle lasted for more than 25 minutes.

Our dinner, after 7, was equally delicious, especially the grilled fish.

Went to bed early knowing that the next day’s wake-up call was planned for 5 am.

Day 54, Tuesday, October 29: Padar – Komodo – Labuan Bajo

At 5:20 am, we were on Padar Island hiking up to a lookout on many stairs – among many tourists – to see the beautiful panoramic view of three differently colored beaches: white, black, and pink, plus the incredible islands.

We stopped just before reaching the very top of the mountain – I didn’t feel very well (height? upset stomach?) – but the view was incredible, so it was worth it!

Back on the boat just before 7 for a savory breakfast that even included a tasty noodle salad.

Our cruise continued toward the beautiful Pink Beach. We walked on the sandy beach for half an hour enjoying the scenery and the pleasant water. Yes, the sand was unbelievably pink from red corals. An a bonus, we also saw the distinctive mark of a Komodo dragon’s tail in the sand from it’s morning walk across the beach.

After a 45-minute cruise, we arrived at Komodo Island. With a naturalist in the lead – who carried a sturdy forked stick to protect himself and tourists from possible over curious dragons – we chose the medium track for our walk in Komodo National Park. From 9:30 until 11, we saw 6 dragons!

We saw the first one from a distance, but as we got closer, it ran away. Then the naturalist led us off the trail and into the forest to see if a particular dragon was still where he saw it a day before. Yes! It was still there, in the shade. No, we didn’t get close to this one, but the naturalist offered to take some photos for me.

Back at the beginning of our walk, we spotted 3 dragons laying lazily in the shade. One of them was really big! And as we were walking back to the boat, we accidentally noticed a baby dragon on the rock.

What a thrill this Komodo experience was! Especially for Steve, who was dreaming about seeing a Komodo dragon in the wild for his entire life!

On the boat, the cook surprised us with another selection of great (but spicy) food for lunch.

Our journey on the boat was over around 2:30. We were driven to our hotel – Ayana Komodo Resort – for an overnight stay, where we enjoyed the view and reflected on our great experience on the islands of Komodo National Park.